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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brain Scan Confirms Acupuncture Relieves Pain
December 1, 1999
from The Medical Tribune - and article by Allan Sison:
Using a new form of brain imaging, researchers have confirmed that acupuncture does in fact relieve pain.
They also found electro-acupuncture to be more effective than manual acupuncture.
Researchers mearsured brain activity in 12 subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed decreased brain activity in four of the seven subjects (57 percent) who received manual acupuncture and in all five subjects who received electro-acupuncture, compared to the level of brain activity measured during pain stimulation.
Scientists led by Dr Huey-Jen Lee, chief of neuroradiology at the University of Medicine and Denistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School in Neward, used both manual acupuncture, in which a needle is inserted into the skin and twisted by hand, and electro-acupuncture, in which a low-level electrical current is passed through the needle. The researchers focused on Hegu acupoint - located between the thumb and the index finger - one of 401 acupoints on the human body.
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